Gameday Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Canucks

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What They're Saying

BLUE JACKETS vs. CANUCKS
GAME INFO
COLUMBUS: 0-3-0, 8th in Metropolitan
VANCOUVER: 0-3-0, 7th in Pacific
NATIONWIDE ARENA, 7 p.m. ET
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Johnny Columbus
There are some similarities between the opening three losses for the Blue Jackets but also some differences.
Head coach Brad Larsen noted the stories of each contest were different. In the opener, Columbus played Carolina even until losing the momentum after the injury to Patrik Laine and a disallowed goal in the second period. The home opener, then, was much more difficult to swallow as the Jackets didn't have their game against Tampa Bay. Finally, Larsen saw a response from his team and much more intensity and attention to detail Saturday in St. Louis, but it still wasn't enough as the Blues scored thrice in the last 10 minutes to pull away.
But the common theme was that in each game, playing a veteran team coming off playoff success a season ago, the Blue Jackets made too many mistakes and spent too much time in their defensive end to emerge victorious.
"Early in the season, you never like mistakes," associate coach Pascal Vincent said Monday. "The players don't want to turn the puck over. They know that. We've played three pretty good teams -- teams with good sticks, veteran teams. Having said that, there's a lot of things we can control that we can do better, and that's what we're going to do."
The only way out of a slide is to continue to put in the work, and the Jackets did that when they got back to practice Monday. And while Columbus has a young team, the veteran leadership will do its best to keep the team moving in the right direction.
"It's up to us, all the guys to lead the way here," Gustav Nyquist said. "Everyone has to be on the train and hop on board, but yeah, it's still early in the season. No time to panic, but we have to get going here and get a win."

Gameday Update

The Blue Jackets will make one change to the lineup, with Nick Blankenburg making his season debut in place of Adam Boqvist (healthy scratch). The defenseman signed last year out of the University of Michigan impressed in a seven-game cameo at the end of the campaign, notching a goal and two assists.
He was the odd man out on the right side to start the season but now gets a look with the Jackets looking for some consistency on the defensive side.
"I'm just really excited for the opportunity," he said. "The last week or two, they said be ready and continue to work hard. I've been doing that. It's just been a week to reset mentally and reset physically. I'm excited to get in and help the team however I can."
Blankenburg can be a jack-of-all-trades for Columbus, with his game predicated on instincts and quick decision-making. At 5-foot-9, he's not the biggest guy, but he threw 19 hits in seven games last year. And while he's on the blue line, the former high school forward notched 14 goals among his 29 points last year at U-M.
While he was disappointed to begin the season as a healthy scratch, he tried to keep improving his game through the first week.
"I think it's just how I look at it and how I handle myself and my attitude toward the situation," Blankenburg said of being out for the first three games. "I'm looking at it as more of an opportunity or more of a positive than a negative. Just continue to learn as much as I can every single day. Just to be up with these guys and be able to practice with them and being around them has been incredible so far. I'm just trying to take in as much as I can."

Know The Foe: Vancouver Canucks

Head coach:Bruce Boudreau (Second season)
2021-22 stats:Goals per game: 3.00 (18th) | Scoring defense: 2.82 (7th) | PP: 23.5 percent (9th) | PK: 74.9 percent (31st)
The narrative: The "Bruce there is it" era of Canucks hockey was a resounding success last year, as the longtime NHL bench boss turned a team that won just eight of its first 25 games in 2021-22 into a near playoff qualifier thanks to a 32-15-10 record to finish the season. Vancouver has made the playoffs just one of the past eight seasons, but the hope is a full season under Boudreau will lead to a return to the postseason. It's been a rough start, though, with losses at Edmonton (5-3), Philadelphia (3-2) and Washington (6-4) to start the season, with Vancouver becoming the first team in NHL history to lose their first three games while holding a two-goal lead in each contest.
2021-22 leaders: Vancouver is built around a core that includes two of the top young stars in the game (forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes), captain Bo Horvat, Ohio native J.T. Miller and impressive young goalie Thatcher Demko. Miller led the team with a 32-67-99 line that put him ninth in the league in points, while Pettersson followed at 32-36-68 and Hughes tied him with an 8-60-68 line that placed him tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in points and fourth in assists. Horvat added 31 goals among his 52 points.
In net, Demko emerged in his first season as the full-time starter to post a 33-22-7 record, 2.72 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
What's new: Vancouver didn't make a ton of changes in the offseason, with the big news being the six-year extension Miller signed to stay with the Canucks for seven years after this season. Ilya Mikheyev was brought in after three solid seasons in Toronto to add scoring depth, but he's been out to this point with a lower-body injury. Former Ohio State forward Dakota Joshua also was added to the forward group from St. Louis.
So far this season, Pettersson and Miller are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece, while Demko has started each game, leaving backup Spencer Martin as the likely goalie tonight. The Canucks have struggled on the penalty kill, giving up six goals in 12 chances.
Trending:The Blue Jackets had a four-game winning streak in the series snapped by a 4-3 Canucks win in December in the last game between the teams. Columbus has won two in a row in Nationwide Arena, including a 4-2 victory last year on Black Friday.

3 Keys to the Game

Sustain pressure: The biggest issue facing the Blue Jackets right now is they're spending too much time in their own zone. The Blue Jackets will look to set up camp in the Canucks defensive zone more often than in the first few games.
Transition game: To do that, the Blue Jackets need to get the puck up the ice more efficiently. The team has the speed to punish teams, but needs fewer turnovers and mistakes to send the puck going the other way.
Believe: We'll use a Ted Lasso quote for the second game in a row here, but the Blue Jackets can't let the weight of three losses become four. Every game is a new opportunity.

3 Stats to Know

• Johnny Gaudreau, who notched his 400th career assist Saturday night in St. Louis, has 42 points (13-29-42) in 41 career games against the Canucks.
• Columbus is ninth in the NHL in faceoff percentage (54.0), while captain Boone Jenner is third in the league among individual players (71.2 percent).
• Milestone watch: Sean Kuraly is one point from 100 in his NHL career, while Nyquist is three points from 100 as a Blue Jacket (35-62-97 in 155 games played).

Who's Hot

Nyquist has scored goals in two straight games, while Gaudreau has a two-game point streak. … Erik Gudbranson has assists in two straight. … Five returning CBJ veterans set career highs in points last year -- Zach Werenski (48), Jack Roslovic (45), Vladislav Gavrikov (33), Sean Kuraly (30) and Eric Robinson (27).

Roster Report

Projected Lineup (subject to change)
Gustav Nyquist - Boone Jenner - Johnny Gaudreau
Yegor Chinakhov - Cole Sillinger - Jakub Voracek
Justin Danforth - Jack Roslovic - Kent Johnson
Eric Robinson - Sean Kuraly - Mathieu Olivier
Zach Werenski - Andrew Peeke
Vladislav Gavrikov - Nick Blankenburg
Jake Bean - Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Daniil Tarasov
Scratches: Liam Foudy, Adam Boqvist
Injured reserve/Injured non-roster: Patrik Laine (sprained elbow; three to four weeks as of Oct. 13); Joonas Korpisalo (hip, day to day); Joona Luoto (lower body, day to day)
Roster Report: Per head coach Brad Larsen, Blankenburg will go in for Boqvist (coach's decision), while Merzlikins will make his second straight start.